smith



(No Model.) I I 1 L. SMITH.

BUCKLE. No. 4 9,440. Patented Feb. 23, 1892.

F1 Y I T 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DWIGHT L. SMITH, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EARL A. SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,440, dated February 23, 1892.

Application filed August 3, 1891. $erial No. 401,514:- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DWIGHT L. SMITH, of \Vaterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Buckles; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a front View of the buckle complete; Fig. 2, a vertical section on line c of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a front view of the buckle-frame with the lever removed; Fig. 4, a front View of the lever detached from the frame; Fig. 5,

the clamping-bar asprepared for attachment to the frame; Fig. 6, a transverse section of the bar 6 of the lever, cutting on line :0 9c of Fig. I; Fig. 7, a transverse section cutting on line y y of Fig. 4; Fig. 8, the jaw-plate detached; Fig. 9, an end view of the frame with the clamping-bar and the lever removed.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of buckles in which the frame is made from wire and in which the frame is provided with a clamping-bar, combined with a lever hinged to the frame and carrying a jaw, so as to clamp the strap between the clamping-bar and the jaw of the lever, so as to secure the strap when the buckle is adjusted, theobject beinga simple construction for hingiug the lever to the frame; and it consists in the construction, as hereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claims.

The frame is made from wire, composed of an upper side A and lower side B, connected by ends 0 O, the wire bent to form the frame in the usual manner, and preferably from the lower end a depending hook D is formed as an integral part of that side 13 of the frame.

E represents the clamping-bar, which is cut fromsheet metal, as seen in Fig. 5. At each end the bar is constructed with a longitudinally-projecting tongue at, and is also constructed with projectington gueshhfromitsupper edge. Preferably the projecting tongues a are narrower than the Width of the bar, and the length of the bar is so much greater than the length of the frame that the tongues a a at the two ends may be bent and closed around the frame so as to firmly secure the bar to the frame, and preferably an indentation is made in the ends of the frame, as seen at d, Fig. 9, into which the ends of the bar a are placed, so as to prevent possible sliding movement of the bar. The tongues h 1) upon the upper side of the bar are provided for hinging the lever thereto, instead of directly to the frame, as in the more general construction.

The lever F is constructed as seen in Fig. 4. It is made from wire bent to form the longitudinal bar c, with the ends turned upward, and then turned inward at a distance above parallel with the bar 6 and so as to form pivots f, as clearly seen in Fig. 4. The pivot ends of the lever, correspond in position to the tongues b b on the bar E, and these tongues 19 b are closed around the pivots f, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and so that the lever mayswing therein as upon a hinge. The lever is preferably constructed with a depending loop G, which may pass over the hook in awell-known manner for this class of buckles.

In constructing the lever to form the loop G it is bent downward from the center, as usual, and upon' the bar e of the lever the clamping jaw II is applied. The jaw H is made from sheet metal, and of a shape as seen in Fig. 8. It is of a length corresponding substantially to the length of the bar 6 of the lever, and through its central portion one edge is serrated. Near each end a cut 9 is made, so as to form tongues h on the jaw edge of the lever, and upon the opposite side at the center is a projection t'. This jaw-plate is applied to the lever, the tongue It being bent and closed around the lever, as seen in Fig. 7, leaving the central or jaw portion projecting therefrom, as seen in Fig. 6. The lower edge of the bar is also closed around the bar 6 of the lever, while the central projection 71 is bent and closed around the double Wire between the bar 6 and the loop below, as seen in Fig. 4.

The projecting jaw is adapted to bear upon the clamping-bar E, and so that when the le ver is turned down it will clamp the strap upon the clampinghar, and so as to hold it at any point to which it may be adjusted; but upon turning the lever outward upon its pivot the jaw swings away from the clamping-bar, so as to leave free opening for the adjustment of the strap.

I claim- 1. In a buckle having the frame made from wire and consisting of two sides A B, connected by ends 0 C, the combination therewith of a sheet-metal clam ping-bar E, its ends closed around the ends of the frame, the said bar constructed with projecting tongues Z), with a lever having its ends turned inward to form pivots, the said tongues I) closed around the said pivots, and whereby the said lever is adapted to swing backward and forward toward the frame, and the lever provided with a jaw adapted to clamp the strap upon the said clamping-bar, substantially as described.

2. In a buckle consisting of a frame made from wire, composed of the sides A B, connected by the ends 0 C, the lower side bent to form a depending hook D, combined with a clamping-bar E, secured to the ends of the frame, and a lever also made from wire, bent to form a bar e, with a depending loop G therefrom, theends of the wire turned upward and inward to form pivots ff and the said pivots hinged to the said clamping-bar E, the lever provided with a jaw-plate H, constructed with a projection 1' from its lower edge and with tongues h at its ends, the said plate closed around the bar 6 of the frame and around the upper portion of the loop, leaving the jaw portion projecting rearwardly from the said bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DIVIGHT L. SMITH.

Witnesses;

G. E. MINTIE. H. L. SLAUSON. 

